The National Rifle Association, the nation's largest gun-rights lobby, suggested at a news conference Friday that armed officers should be placed at every school. NRA officials addressed the media a week after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Across the country, some parents and administrators reacted with hesitation or anger to the idea. But in Missouri, some said the idea is worth looking at as long as a funding source can be found.

St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch says most lives are lost in school shootings before police can get there. He says an armed officer on-site would address that critical period of time.